I will be traveling for the first time to St. Maarten in November, staying at the Westin St. Maarten Dawn Beach Resort. I am really interested in eating at restaurants other than the ones in the resort. Can you please recommend restaurants that I should try, or direct me to reputable websites that would give me that information? Thanks.

St. Marrten, the Dutch side of the island, and St. Martin, the French side of the island, offer two different dining experiences! On the French side, you'll find all of your favorite French delights including crepes and, my favorite, gauffres. . .waffles sprinkled with your favorite flavors and sauces. You can dine in fine restaurants at a variety of resorts or find corner crepe stands as you would in Paris.

There are also some adorable, beachcomber-style local places that are great fun. One of my favorites is Dingy Dock, a restaurant built on a dock where peope actually tie up their dingies when they come ashore after anchoring their boats a bit off-shore. The restaurant is laid-back and table service is at long picnic tables so you'll get to meet local folks and other visitors who sit down at your table as well. They have the best ribs ever! Dingy Dock is a 2 minute drive from the Westin Dawn Beach Hotel which, while in the Dutch side of the island, is about 2 block sfrom the border of the French side.

For specific recommendations, rely on the concierges at your hotel. They are a fabulous resource for local information and keep up with what's best and all the rest.

You are going to have the best time! St. Maarten/St. Martin is a great destinations. Be careful about directions you get from the locals, however. No matter what you ask about, they'll always tell you it's 'fifteen minutes from here.' You'll quickly learn that's not possible! My last 15 minute trek took over an hour so leave lots of time if you have a reservation. The island is mountainous so maybe if you were a seagull the trip would take 15 minutes. For the rest of us, leave extra time for travel!

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